Class 2A Week 6 Rankings and Selections

Class 2A Rankings

Week 6, 2025

RK-PV Team (Record, Week 5 Result)

1. ↔  1. East Poinsett County (4-1; McCrory 32-12)
2. ↔  2. Junction City (4-1; beat Mineral Springs 39-0)
3. ↔  3. Mount Ida (4-1; beat Conway Christian 42-6)
4. ↔  4. Carlisle (5-0; beat Clarendon 49-0)

5. ↔  5. Cross County (4-1; beat Izard County 53-6)
6.   ↑  9. Hector (5-0; beat Bigelow 47-28)
7.   ↑  13. Hampton (5-0; beat Poyen 46-18)
8.   ↑  10. Earle (4-1; beat Marked Tree 22-8)
9.   ↓   6.  Poyen (2-3; lost to Hampton 46-28)
10.   ↓   7. Bearden (3-2; beat Baptist Prep 30-15)
11. ↔  11. Des Arc (3-2; beat Marianna 40-12)
12. ↔  12. Marked Tree (3-2; lost to Earle 22-8)
13.  ↓   8.  Dierks (3-2; lost to Spring Hill 22-20)
14. ↔ 14. Bigelow (1-4; lost to Hector 57-28)
15. ↔ 15. Magazine (4-1; beat Mountainburg 16-14)
16.  ↑  NR. Murfreesboro (3-2; beat Foreman 48-34)
17.  ↑  18.  McCrory (2-3; lost to East Poinsett County 32-12)
18.  ↑  19.  Foreman (2-3; lost to Murfreesboro 48-34)
19.  ↑  20.  Gurdon (3-2; beat Lafayette County 47-7) 
20.  ↑  NR. Spring Hill (3-2; beat Dierks 22-20)

NOT RANKED 

1-2A: Mountainburg (2-3), Mountain Pine (1-4), Johnson County Westside (0-4), Conway Christian (1-4)

2-2A: Izard County (1-4) and Marianna (0-4)

3-2A: Mineral Springs (0-5), Lafayette County (1-4)

4-2A: Baptist Prep (1-4), Hazen (1-4), England (2-3) and Clarendon (0-5)

LAST WEEK

Hootens.com correctly predicted 12 of 16 games (75 percent) involving Class 2A teams and has correctly predicted 83 of 112 games (74 percent) for the season.

HOOTENS.COM GAME OF THE WEEK 

No. 4 CARLISLE (5-0, 2-0) at No. 7 Hampton (5-0, 2-0)

Two undefeated teams ranked in the top 10 clash in south Arkansas as surprise Hampton, under first-year coach Nick Palese, hosts perennial power Carlisle in a battle for the top spot in the 4-2A conference. 

Carlisle enters the game averaging 38.4 points per game while giving up 8.4. Hampton is averaging 39.2 while allowing 18.4. 

Carlisle is led by junior QB Baylor Hauk, who missed last week’s win over Clarendon after passing for 341 yards and 2 TDs and rushing for 100 yards and 3 TDs 2 weeks ago against Des Arc. His replacement last week, Tyler Thrift, passed for more than 200 yards and threw 5 TDs against Clarendon.

Carlisle Coach Gary Wilson knows that Hampton presents a big challenge. 

“Coach Palese is doing a great job there and has got them believing they can win. They are playing hard. I know they will be excited to play us. We’ll be laser-focused to go play them, too.”

Last week, Hampton outlasted Poyen 46-2 behind QB DJ Clark (11-16 passing, 97 yards; 44 rushing, 3 TDs). Aden Williams returned a kickoff for a TD while Deondre Smith and Drew Clarke scored defensive TDs. 

“Carlisle is a really good football team with playmakers everywhere,” Palese said. “They have a great QB who can be really dangerous and have several players who are great in space. Their defensive front is very tough as well. 

“They’re quick and physical and look to create havoc. We know how big this opportunity is, and our kids are going to be ready to compete for 4 quarters Friday night.”

1-2A

No. 3 MOUNT IDA (4-1, 2-0) at No. 15 Magazine (4-1, 1-1): Mount Ida’s Jackson White rushed for 101 yards on 5 carries in a 42-6 win over Conway Christian. Cain McCullough had 66 yards rushing and 7 tackles, including a sack. Magazine beat Mountainburg 16-14. Chakong Yang rushed for 101 yards and 2 TDs. Hunter Inklebarger led the Rattlers with 12 tackles. 

Mountain Pine (1-4, 1-1) at No. 14 BIGELOW (1-4, 1-1): Mountain Pine beat JC Westside 36-13 for its first win as QB Isaac Canada passed for 3 TDs. Zachary Middleton and Caleb Beach both rushed for 100 yards and each scored a TD. Bigelow fell to undefeated Hector. Sophomores Wrangler Manes and Jake Barry both caught TD passes. 

JC Westside (0-4, 0-2) at CONWAY CHRISTIAN (1-4, 1-1): Westside QB Nathan Powell rushed for 83 yards and passed for 90 yards and a TD in a loss to Mountain Pine. Moose Yarbrough had a rushing TD. Conway Christian QB Xander Stone threw a TD pass to Easton Hartley for the Eagles’ lone score in a loss to Mount Ida. 

No. 6 HECTOR (5-0, 2-0) at Mountainburg (2-3, 0-2): Hector remained undefeated by routing Bigelow 47-28. QB Drew Newport passed for 247 yards and 2 TDs, and Lucas Baker rushed for 284 yards and 4 TDs to increase his season total to 1,044. Brewer Storey had an interception. Mountainburg RB Hayden McGill scored 2 rushing TDs and had 10 tackles on defense. Brayden Dudley led the defense with 13 tackles. 

2-2A

No.  5 Cross County (4-1, 2-0) at No. 1 EAST POINSETT COUNTY (4-1, 2-0): This is an early battle for 2-2A supremacy. Cross County’s Braxton Armstrong rushed for 100 yards and 2 TDs in a 53-6 win over Izard County. Danny Beal, Kale Searcy and Davion Simmons each had a TD. EPC QB Eli Blagg passed for 222 yards and 2 TDs against McCrory. Dee Buchanan caught a TD pass and rushed for 2 TDs. Jacob Gaines rushed for 82 yards. 

No. 11 DES ARC (3-2, 1-1) at No. 12 Marked Tree (3-2, 1-1): Des Arc bounced back from consecutive losses to beat Marianna. Jamie Collins led Des Arc with 100 yards rushing on 7 carries. Marked Tree’s Jayvon Harris scored the Indians’ lone TD against Earle. 

Marianna (0-4, 0-2) at No. 8 EARLE (4-1, 2-0): Marianna fell to Des Arc last week. Earle edged Marked Tree 16-8 behind QB Ta’Ron Maples, who passed for 175 yards and rushed for 25 yards. Keonta Harris scored a rushing TD. Tarreze Jarrett led the defense with 10 tackles. 

No. 17 MCCRORY (2-3, 0-2) at Izard County (1-4, 0-2): McCrory has dropped 2 conference games since a 2-1 nonconference start. Caden Ayers caught a TD pass while Jaicen Castro had a rushing TD against EPC. Izard County’s Benaiah Spray caught 8 passes for 137 yards and a TD against Cross County. 

3-2A

No. 2 JUNCTION CITY (4-1, 2-0) at No. 19 Gurdon (3-2, 2-0): Junction City beat Mineral Springs 39-0 last week, a win that included 2 defensive touchdowns. Jermaine Kennedy had 2 INTs, returning 1 for a TD; Nehemiah Caldwell returned a fumble for a TD. QB DaKorey Larry completed 8 of 14 passes for 119 yards and a TD. He also rushed for 2 scores. Gurdon is 2-0 in conference after beating Lafayette County 47-7. QB Jonah Jester passed for 2 TDs and ran for 2. 

No. 19 DIERKS (3-2, 1-1) at No. 16 Murfreesboro (3-2, 1-1): QB Payton Boeckman threw 2 TD passes and Maclane Smith scored a rushing TD, but Dierks came up 2 points short against Spring Hill. Mason Smith led the Outlaws with 11 tackles. Murfreesboro edged upstart Foreman 48-34. Kale Burns caught 12 passes for 231 yards and 4 TDs; QB Kooper Caldwell threw for 350 yards and 6 TDs. 

FOREMAN (2-3, 0-2) at Mineral Springs (0-5, 0-2): Ryan Johnson rushed for 106 yards and a TD and caught a TD pass in Foreman’s 14-point loss to Murfreesboro. Hayden Easter and Keenan Marshall both had TD runs. Kaylon Easter threw a TD pass to Landen Shurtleff. Mineral Springs fell to Junction City 39-0; Amarrion Maxwell led the defense with 9 tackles. 

Lafayette County (1-4, 0-2) at No. 20 SPRING HILL (3-2, 1-1): Lafayette County’s Jordan Walter rushed for 95 yards before leaving last week’s loss to Gurdon in the 2nd quarter with an injury. Zakarian Lawson led the team with 10 tackles. Spring Hill edged Dierks 22-20 in what might be its most significant win since moving back to 11-man football. QB Jaxon Smith threw 2 TD passes and ran for another. Karson Hamilton caught 7 passes for 130 yards and 2 TDs. Levi Askew rushed for 124 yards. 

4-2A

CARLISLE (5-0, 2-0) at Hampton (5-0, 2-0): See HOOTENS.COM Game of the Week. 

Hazen (1-4, 0-2) at No. 9 POYEN (2-3, 1-1): QB JJ Pinkey and Noah Adkins both scored 2 TDs in Hazen’s loss to England, and Adkins has 24 tackles. Poyen QB Colt Barrett threw 4 TD passes and ran for 2 in a loss at Hampton.  

No. 10 BEARDEN (3-2, 2-0) at Clarendon (0-5, 0-2): Marky Jimmerson ran for 165 yards and 3 TDs in Bearden’s 30-15 win over Baptist Prep. Jeremiah Wright, Jacob Miller, Kavarus Williams and Maddox Welch combined for 32 tackles, 3 sacks and 5 TFL. Clarendon lost 49-0 at Carlisle. 

ENGLAND (2-3, 1-1) at Baptist Prep (1-4, 0-2): England broke a 3-game skid by beating Hazen 40-28 as QB Jordan Palmer passed for 280 yards and 5 TDs. The Lions got significant contributions from El’Wyon Johnson, who rushed for 115 yards and a TD, and Jayquan Mays, who caught 6 passes for 130 yards and 2 TDs. Baptist Prep’s Aaron Fielder passed for 110 yards and a TD, caught a TD pass and rushed for 45 yards. He also had 10 tackles on defense.